Coderre T J, Grimes R W, Melzack R
Exp Neurol. 1986 Feb;91(2):355-65. doi: 10.1016/0014-4886(86)90075-0.
Autotomy, or self-mutilation of the foot following sciatic and saphenous nerve lesions, was examined in rats after pretreatment of the sciatic nerve with capsaicin. This pretreatment produced an alteration in autotomy behavior which resulted in the sparing of the medial side of the foot. The effect occurred following a long (12-week) pretreatment-test interval, but not after shorter (1- and 4-week) intervals. The effect also depended on the successive transecting of the saphenous and sciatic nerves. Sparing of the medial side of the foot occurred only when the saphenous nerve was transected at the time of the sciatic nerve treatment with capsaicin. Because the side of the foot innervated by the saphenous nerve was spared by treating the sciatic nerve with capsaicin, we suggest that capsaicin alters the course of autotomy by preventing collateral innervation of the saphenous region by the intact sciatic nerve during the pretreatment-test interval. The fact that this occurs only after a 12-week interval suggests that capsaicin's effect on collateral innervation is a gradual process that requires a long time to develop.
在对大鼠坐骨神经进行辣椒素预处理后，研究了坐骨神经和隐神经损伤后足部的自切现象，即足部自残行为。这种预处理使自切行为发生了改变，导致足部内侧得以保留。这种效应在较长的（12周）预处理-测试间隔后出现，但在较短的（1周和4周）间隔后未出现。该效应还取决于隐神经和坐骨神经的相继横断。只有在坐骨神经用辣椒素处理时同时横断隐神经，足部内侧才会得以保留。由于用辣椒素处理坐骨神经可使隐神经支配的足部一侧得以保留，我们认为辣椒素通过在预处理-测试间隔期间阻止完整的坐骨神经对隐神经区域的侧支神经支配，从而改变了自切的进程。这种情况仅在12周间隔后才出现，这一事实表明辣椒素对侧支神经支配的作用是一个渐进的过程，需要很长时间才能显现出来。
